Husband-wife combo scores

THE five-hour float trip from Rockhampton to Moranbah proved fruitful for the husband and wife trainer-jockey combination of Shane and Kim McGovern when Kim's horse Sobeit won the feature race at the mining centre on Saturday.

Ridden patiently in a trailing position by Shane, the Iglesia nine-year-old ($7.00) finished resolutely along the rails to win the $10,000 Anglo American Open Cup (1400m) in runaway fashion.

Sobeit won by 2.3 lengths from Ross Vagg's Forever More (Tracy O'Hara, $12.00) with Lindsay Challacombe's race favourite Mr Nicholas (Carly-Mae Pye, $1.90) more than five lengths behind the winner in third.

It was an excellent training effort by Kim McGovern as Sobeit's three runs this preparation before Saturday's win were at Thangool on July 30; Gladstone on August 13 and Yeppoon on October 29.

Saturday's upset win by Sobeit at extended odds ended an afternoon of surprise results whereby not one favourite was successful much to the disappointment of the huge crowd on hand at Moranbah's Treasure Park racecourse.

However, Blondeshavemorefun's placing was amended to third after an error was discovered only after jockey Trinity Bannon originally placed third aboard Kensington ($7.00) questioned the result and asked to see the photo print.

This led to a delay as Pye then exercised her right to view the photo as well which led to the amended placings.

Bannon then went one better in the next race the $13,000 QTIS Added Maiden Stakes (1000m) winning on Darryl Johnston's Varsovienna ($6.00) who beat the most unlucky Looking At Lace (Dennis Whitmore, $13.00).

Kim McGovern's race favourite Domineering ($2.80) finished fifth.

Pye bettered her placings in the first two races winning the third event, the Class 4 (1180m) on Lindsay Challacombe's game Magic Pearl ($5.00) who beat John Manzelmann's favourite Coco Loco (Nathan Patchett, $2.20).

In what was a rarity, Manzelmann, who started nine horses at Moranbah, failed to win a race, the most notable being favourite Maid of Sevens (Bannon, $3.50) going down to Ross Vagg's Shot Bar (Dennis Whitmore, $7.00) in the Class 2 (1550m).

Similarly at Isisford races on Saturday, prolific race-winning Central Western trainer Todd Austin also failed to lead in a winner from his four starters at the meeting.

The odds of both Manzelmann and Austin not winning a Saturday country race in Queensland on any given week would have been astronomical.

However, at Eagle Farm's Brisbane races on Saturday, the Barcaldine-based Austin's top mare Playtime finished a luckless second in the $80,000 QTIS 3YO Handicap (1400m).